Whoop, whoop! My first Rosebank! That’s right, this is the first time I get to try a whisky from this long closed Lowland distillery. I also have a sample of the official Rosebank 25yo waiting to be tried (both samples courtesy of Sjoerd, thanks!), but I figured it would be better to first try this 16yo from Blackadder, so that I could at least get to know the distillery a little bit before tasting what is supposedly one of the best Rosebank-bottlings ever. So the 25yo OB from 1981 will have to wait. Here are my notes on the 16yo Blackadder from 1991.
Rosebank 1991/2007 (56,2%, Blackadder, C#630)
Nose: Pear, apple and melon. Some freshly cut grass with vanilla, lemon and even some marzipan. There’s a whiff of smoke and a tiny hint of rubber. Pleasant, although not very complex.
Taste: White pepper and some peat, but it stays very much in the background. The palate is slightly bitter and dry with some added citrus fruits. A bit raw and unpolished this one.
Finish: A little bit of smoke, with citrus notes and bitterness. Medium in length.
Rating: 84
The nose is easily the best part of this whisky. The palate is a bit rough, maybe another ten years in the cask would’ve made this a well-rounded, really good whisky, instead of one that is simply fine.
